Matt Scholten Explained

Matt Scholten
Birth Place:Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Matt Scholten is an Australian theatre and film director, producer, writer and teacher. He is the Artistic Director & Creative Producer of independent theatre company If Theatre which was established in 2006.[1]

Career

Scholten studied Drama and English Literature at the University of Melbourne performing in student theatre productions and earning a Bachelor of Education in 1992.[2] He went on to study directing and writing at the Australian Nouveau (Antill) Theatre[3] [4] and a career as a Drama Teacher.

In 2006 he was accepted into the Victorian College of the Arts[5] [6] where he studied directing under the tutelage of Richard Murphet,[7] Jenny Kemp[8] and then Head of the School of Drama Lindy Davies.[9]

In 2007, If Theatre's debut production was A Slight Ache by Harold Pinter[10] [11] and was followed later that year by Three Short Plays by Jack Hibberd produced for the 40th Birthday La Mama Theatre.[12] [13]

Beginning in 2008, Scholten collaborated with playwright Daniel Keene[14] on a theatre practice based primarily in Melbourne's western suburbs,[15] launching The Dog Theatre[16] in Footscray with a production of Keene's Half & Half.[17] [18]

In 2009, The Cove (eight short plays including four world premieres)[19] [20] [21] was directed by Scholten and had three Green Room Award nominations for actors Majid Shokor, Jan Freidl and Bruce Myles.[22] The Cove[23] featured the following plays: Cafe Table, Somewhere in the Middle of the Night, To Whom It May Concern, A Glass of Twilight, The Morning After, A Death, Two Shanks and The First Train.[14]

Scholten's production of Daniel Keene's The Nightwatchman starring Roger Oakley was part of Theatreworks' Selected Works programme in 2010[24] [25] [26] [27] and also that year he was assistant director to Peter Evans at the Melbourne Theatre Company on Keene's debut there, Life Without Me.[28]

If Theatre has commissioned and co-produced two further works written by Daniel Keene and directed by Scholten:

For the Melbourne Theatre Company, Scholten has directed The Heretic[40] [41] written by Richard Bean featuring Noni Hazlehurst & Andrew McFarlane and directed readings of Rejkavijk by Paul Galloway[42] and Daniel Keene's The Curtain[43] with Helen Morse and Alex Menglet.[44] [45] He was assistant director to Julian Meyrick for the 2007 Hard Lines Play Readings season.[46]

Other directorial works include:

Along with his extensive work directing plays by Keene, other new Australian work Scholten has directed includes:

Scholten is also a teacher of acting and directing, working at the Victorian College of the Arts from 2007 to 2014 as a Teaching Artist and Director and was Head of Acting and Head of Theatre Arts at Goulburn Ovens TAFE in Benalla from 2010 to 2014.[70] [71]

For television, in 2013 he completed a Directorial Attachment with Channel Seven on the television drama A Place to Call Home and in 2017 was Acting Coach on Magpie Pictures' Grace Beside Me.[72]

In 2013, Scholten programmed the theatre season for Benalla Performing Arts Centre and in 2014 he was appointed as resident artistic director there,[73] launching the theatre seasons in 2014 and 2015.[74] At BPACC, Scholten wrote and directed the play The Drums of Time,[75] developed an Australia Council for the Arts funded workshop programme for female regional playwrights[74] and hosted the Victorian College of the Arts first FRISK! Festival.[76]

In 2015, Scholten toured with the production of Mother throughout Victoria and Tasmania and then relocated to South East Queensland taking up a position lecturing and directing at the University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba. At USQ his work included his adaptation of Lysistrata,[77] [78] [79] Tartuffe by Moliere adapted by Justin Fleming,[80] [81] Spring Awakening by Frank Wedekind adapted by Jonathan Franzen[82] [83] and The House of Bernarda Alba by Federico García Lorca.[84] [85] [86] [87] [88] [89]

In 2016, Mother toured New South Wales and Queensland and was nominated for two Helpmann Awards for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Play and Best Regional Touring Production.[90] [91] [92] [93]

Scholten was one of the keynote speakers at the 2016 Australasian Association for Theatre, Drama and Performance Studies (ADSA)[94] Conference.[95] [96]

Mother was presented at Belvoir Street Theatre in early 2018[97] [98] [99] and was presented at QPAC in August 2018.[100] Noni Hazlehurst won the 2019 Matilda Award for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role for Mother for the QPAC season.[101] [102]

The Campaign by Campion Decent,[103] a verbatim play that dramatised the fight for gay law reform in Tasmania[104] was produced and directed by Scholten[105] premiering at Salamanca Arts Centre in October 2018 co-produced by If Theatre, Tasmanian Theatre Company[106] & Blue Cow Theatre,[107] winning the 2019 Best New Writing Award at the Tasmanian Theatre Awards.[108] The development of The Campaign was supported by a Playwriting Australia grant.[109]

Scholten is currently lecturing in acting and is a guest director at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University[110] and at Queensland University of Technology.[111]

His debut film as writer/director,[112] a short documentary supported by Screen Australia[113] and Network Ten called Belonging[114] had its world premiere at the 2020 Queer Screen Film Festival as part of the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras and will be screened on TenPlay[115] later in 2020.[116]

Belonging screened at the 2020 Melbourne Queer Film Festival and won the Jury Prize for Best Documentary Short.

Mother was presented in early 2020 at Home of the Arts, Gold Coast[117] and in an encore season at QPAC.[118] [119]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: AusStage. ausstage.edu.au. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190414191554/https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/organisation/31779. 14 April 2019. live.
  2. Web site: The Tempest | Melbourne University Student Theatre Archive . Must.unimelb.edu.au . 2013-11-08 . 2020-01-14.
  3. Web site: AusStage . AusStage . 2020-01-14.
  4. Web site: melb_others . Resource.acu.edu.au . 2020-01-14.
  5. Web site: Guest blog: Anna Samson (BDrama 2010) | Precinct . Blogs.unimelb.edu.au . 2012-11-13 . 2020-01-14.
  6. Web site: Performing Arts Winter School | Precinct . Blogs.unimelb.edu.au . 2015-01-06 . 2020-01-14.
  7. Web site: Richard Murphet . AustralianPlays.org . 2020-01-14.
  8. Web site: Jenny Kemp . AustralianPlays.org . 2020-01-14.
  9. Web site: Body of Work – Lindy Davies . Lindydavies.com . 2020-01-14.
  10. Web site: AusStage. ausstage.edu.au. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191118074746/https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/71733. 18 November 2019. live.
  11. Web site: Croggon . Alison . Review: The Burlesque Hour More/A Slight Ache ~ theatre notes . Theatrenotes.blogspot.com . 2007-07-03 . 2020-01-14.
  12. Web site: AusStage. ausstage.edu.au. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181123051222/https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/71624. 23 November 2018. live.
  13. Web site: McCallum . Brendan . Three Short Plays by Jack Hibberd, at La Mama | . Brendanmccallum.com . 2007-07-23 . 2020-01-14.
  14. Web site: CV – Daniel Keene . Danielkeene.com.au . 2004-03-06 . 2020-01-14.
  15. Web site: Matt Scholten and Daniel Keene. australianstage.com.au. 22 November 2010 . 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180425064047/https://www.australianstage.com.au/201011224062/features/melbourne/matt-scholten-and-daniel-keene.html. 25 April 2018. live.
  16. Web site: SCENE CHANGES: MAPPING MELBOURNE THEATRE | RealTime – Australia . 1 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200316235455/https://www.realtime.org.au/scene-changes-mapping-melbourne-theatre-2005-2015/ . 16 March 2020 . dead .
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  21. Web site: 2009 – some year, eh? ~ theatre notes . Theatrenotes.blogspot.com . 2009-12-23 . 2020-01-14.
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  26. Web site: Moving from tram to triumph . Amp.theage.com.au . 2010-01-29 . 2020-01-14.
  27. Web site: Unknown . interviews: Matt Scholten Daniel Keene – INTERVIEWS . Paulandrew-interviews.blogspot.com . 2010-12-23 . 2020-01-14.
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  29. Web site: BOXMAN. AustralianPlays.org. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170316102106/https://australianplays.org/script/ASC-1443. 16 March 2017. live.
  30. Web site: Boxman . The Sydney Morning Herald . 2011-11-23 . 2020-01-14.
  31. Web site: Boxman – The Wheeler Centre . Wheelercentre.com . 2011-11-23 . 2020-01-14.
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  33. Web site: BOXMAN – Page 72119 – City Hub Media . Cityhubsydney.com.au . 2013-03-18 . 2020-01-14.
  34. Web site: Louis Esson Prize for Drama . AustralianPlays.org . 2020-01-14.
  35. Web site: Blog: The Victorian Premier's Literary Awards Shortlists 2012 · . Readings.com.au . 2012-08-09 . 2020-01-14.
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  38. Web site: Regional Arts Victoria. rav.net.au. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190318110433/http://www.rav.net.au/news/communities/regional-arts-victoria-celebrates-touring-programs-announced-on-vce-playlist. 18 March 2019. live.
  39. Web site: Hazlehurst gives authoritative performance in Mother. Cameron. Woodhead. 14 June 2015. The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181105080313/https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/theatre/hazlehurst-gives-authoritative-performance-in-mother-20150614-ghnij2.html. 5 November 2018. live.
  40. Web site: AusStage. ausstage.edu.au. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20181002215416/https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/105325. 2 October 2018. live.
  41. Web site: The Heretic | Melbourne Theatre Company . 1 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112185138/https://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/production-archive/2010-2014/2012-mainstage/the-heretic/ . 12 January 2020 . dead .
  42. Web site: Melbourne Theatre Company . Cybec.com.au . 2020-01-14.
  43. Web site: The Cybec Readings: The Curtain | Melbourne Theatre Company . 1 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200112193939/https://www.mtc.com.au/plays-and-tickets/production-archive/2010-2014/2012-other-events/the-cybec-readings-the-curtain/ . 12 January 2020 . dead .
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  47. Web site: AusStage. ausstage.edu.au. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190319010118/https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/78027. 19 March 2019. live.
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  53. Web site: Hoy Polloy: 2010 . Hoypolloytheatre.blogspot.com . 2020-01-14.
  54. Web site: Review: Dying City, Do Not Go Gentle... ~ theatre notes . Theatrenotes.blogspot.com . 2010-08-09 . 2020-01-14.
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  56. Web site: Notables ~ theatre notes . Theatrenotes.blogspot.com . 2006-09-13 . 2020-01-14.
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  59. Web site: Chris Aronsten. australianstage.com.au. 28 May 2012 . 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20180425060221/https://www.australianstage.com.au/201205285448/features/sydney/chris-aronsten.html. 25 April 2018. live.
  60. Web site: CROSSED. AustralianPlays.org. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20170306142213/https://australianplays.org/script/ASC-1289. 6 March 2017. live.
  61. Web site: Sleepless in suburbia. Robin. Usher. 6 June 2011. The Sydney Morning Herald.
  62. Web site: Playwright crosses suburban breakdown . Star Observer . 8 June 2011. 2020-01-14.
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  72. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6347259/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
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  74. Web site: Regional theatremakers the focus of inclusive new program. Richard. Watts. ArtsHub Australia. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190410042344/https://performing.artshub.com.au/news-article/news/performing-arts/richard-watts/regional-theatremakers-the-focus-of-inclusive-new-program-244859. 10 April 2019. live.
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  79. Web site: Kate Dodd . Bawdy play Lysistrata will make you think . Daily Mercury . 2016-05-13 . 2020-01-14.
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  89. Web site: USQ Artsworx presents: The House of Bernarda Alba – University of Southern Queensland . Usq.edu.au . 2017-08-08 . 2020-01-14.
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  98. Web site: Director's Note: Mother – Belvoir St Theatre . 1 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190310231128/https://belvoir.com.au/news/directors-note-mother/ . 10 March 2019 . dead .
  99. Web site: Kevin Jackson's Theatre Diary: January 2018 . Kjtheatrediary.com . 2020-01-14.
  100. Web site: Press release . qpac-umbraco-cdn.azureedge.net . 2020-01-14.
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  102. Web site: The 2018 Matilda Awards have been announced – Limelight . 1 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190422002239/https://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/news/the-2018-matilda-awards-have-been-announced/ . 22 April 2019 . dead .
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  107. Web site: Gay rights campaigner's historic arrest made into stage play. Annah. Fromberg. 14 October 2018. ABC News. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190913185651/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-14/croome-1988-arrest-turned-into-a-play/10373450. 13 September 2019. live.
  108. Web site: 2019 Winners. Tasmanian Theatre Awards. 30 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190929233747/http://www.tastheatreawards.com/2019-winners. 29 September 2019. live.
  109. Web site: Reflecting on Artistic Collaboration – The Campaign – Playwriting Australia . Pwa.org.au . 2018-09-05 . 2020-01-14.
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  111. Web site: Person Details – HiQ. qutvirtual4.qut.edu.au.
  112. Web site: Documentary about Tasmanian gay rights movement filmed on the Coast | the Advocate . 1 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191102222658/https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/6470457/gay-rights-documentary-filmed-on-the-coast/ . 2 November 2019 . dead .
  113. Web site: Network 10 and Screen Australia bring you OUT HERE . Screen Australia . 2020-01-14.
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  116. News: Network 10 and Screen Australia back three docos as part of LGBTIQ+ initiative Out Here. If Magazine . 17 July 2019. 24 November 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190722043306/https://www.if.com.au/network-10-and-screen-australia-back-three-docos-as-part-of-lgbtiq-initiative-out-here/. 22 July 2019. live.
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  118. Web site: Mother | Cremorne Theatre, QPAC. qpac.com.au.
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